Video: Dax Bender highlightsWatch the La Junta standout in action against Dolores Huerta.It may be a bit premature at this point of the 2016 prep football season to read too much into what has taken place through the first few weeks of play.
But there have been some take-notice moments already. Each of the state's seven defending state champions have already sustained at least one defeat, and the re-shuffled classifications have established some new programs as contenders, particularly in the four smallest classifications.
In Class 2A alone, the most recent CHSAANow.com poll has four teams ranked in the top seven which didn't compete in 2A last fall. No. 3
The Classical Academy (Colorado Springs), No. 5
Delta and seventh-ranked
D'Evelyn (Denver) dropped down from 3A, while No. 4
Resurrection Christian (Loveland) made the 1A semifinals a year ago.
In Class 1A, second-ranked
Strasburg – a 2A quarterfinalist in 2015 – is off to a 3-0 start headed into a showdown Friday night vs. No. 4
Limon. The Indians have already defeated two ranked teams.
Time will tell what the next month-plus of the regular season has in store, but here is a quick look back at the first four weeks of 2016 for the small-school classes:
Class 2A
Strong starts: Of the six current undefeated teams in 2A,
Manitou Springs is among the early surprises. The Mustangs made the postseason as the No. 16 seed a year ago but won only three games. The team has already matched that, routing St. Mary's (Colorado Springs) and Valley (Gilcrest) before upending Faith Christian (Arvada) last weekend.
Resurrection Christian hasn't experienced any growing pains thus far since making the move from 1A. The Cougars have defeated three 2A playoffs squads from last fall, including a 24-22 victory over state runner-up Platte Valley (Kersey) last Saturday behind two touchdowns from
Brin Hayden.
Watch out for
La Junta. Headed into Friday night's showdown with No. 1
Kent Denver (Englewood), the second-ranked Tigers have allowed only 14 points through three games. The first two victories came on the road, and the team already is closing in on 1,000 rushing yards as a unit.
Top performers: Delta senior running back
Damon Jensen has racked up the yards through the team's first three games. Jensen leads the state with 716 yards, including a monster 316-yard showing two weeks ago in a rout of Moffat County (Craig).
La Junta senior running back
Dax Bender and sophomore quarterback
Jon Nuschy have seven rushing touchdowns each.
Montezuma-Cortez (Cortez) sophomore QB
Ike Dennison leads 2A with 722 yards and eight touchdown passes, while four players have six TDs each.
Bishop Machebeuf (Denver) junior
Fernando Chavez leads 2A with eight touchdowns – five rushing, two receiving and one on an interception return.
Class 1A
Strong starts: Platte Canyon (Bailey) made an early statement, going on the road to knock off defending state champion Buena Vista 16-8 last weekend. The Huskies are off to a 3-0 start and have already pounded out 15 rushing touchdowns.
The Western Slope League figures to heat up over the next few weeks. Three teams –
Paonia,
Cedaredge and
Meeker – have started 3-0, with Paonia showing no hangover from the graduation of standout Taylor Walters.
Limon has already topped a pair of 2015 playoff teams, avenging last year's quarterfinal loss to
Crowley County (Ordway) with a 14-7 victory Sept. 9. The Badgers face their toughest test this weekend with
Strasburg.
Top performers: Speaking of Crowley County, senior
Dylan Tuma has broken loose through the first four games of the season with 517 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
A handful of quarterbacks have opened up the floodgates through the air, paced by Ty Judge of
Clear Creek (Evergreen) (45-of-85 for 827 yards and seven touchdowns).
Colorado Springs Christian's Justin Engesser already has 10 TD passes for the Lions – five to
Poco Van os and four to
Jordan Greager.
Holyoke's Gunnar Kroeger has nine touchdown passes.
Ellicott (Calhan) junior
Chiante' Stewart leads 1A with 10 total touchdowns, doing damage on the ground (150 yards and six TDs) and as a receiver (12 catches for 356 yards and four scores).
Four players have already tallied at least five sacks, led by
Bennett's Cade Becker with six.
8-Man
Strong starts: One year after winning only three games and missing the postseason,
Sangre de Cristo (Mosca) kicked off 2016 with four consecutive victories and three shutouts. The Thunderbirds are coming off a 68-0 runaway victory over Dove Creek, though top-ranked
Sargent (Monte Vista) awaits in two weeks.
The Farmers get a big test this weekend with No. 5
Norwood, which features
Trenton Armintrout. The senior has rushing for 356 yards in three victories and leads 1A with 11 touchdowns.
Dayspring Christian (Greeley) opened with a victory over state runner-up Akron in a rematch of a 2015 quarterfinal before hanging a combined 123 points on its next two opponents. Senior quarterback
Jonathan Cowles is averaging 215 yards a game and has eight touchdown passes and two more rushing.
Top performers: Soroco (Oak Creek) has provided 8-Man's top 1-2 rushing punch in the form of sophomore
Jace Logan (883 yards, six TDs) and senior
Isaac Jonas (342 yards, four touchdowns).
Haxtun senior
Bo Soukup isn't far behind Cowles in terms of numbers. Soukup has throw for 611 yards and leads 8-Man with 11 touchdown passes. Teammate
Caleb Andersen has hauled in seven of those scores and is averaging nearly 139 yards a game receiving.
West Grand (Kremmling) senior
Travis Etler has been a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks with nine sacks through three games, which leads the state.
6-Man
Strong starts: Since winning the 2013 6-man championship,
Stratton/Liberty has endured some struggles, missing the previous two postseasons. But the Knighted Eagles are off to a 3-0 start, with sophomore quarterback
Tyson Lichty having passed for 256 yards and six touchdowns and a balanced rushing attack boasting four runners who have topped 100 yards.
Fleming came up short in the 2015 semifinals, but the Wildcats have put together three impressive victories – most recently taking down 2015 runner-up Arickaree/Woodlin 40-14. Senior
Alex Vandenbark has rushed for 444 yards and eight scores.
In a classification where offense typically rules,
Sierra Grande (Blanca) has been getting it done with its defense. The undefeated Panthers have allowed only 18 points through three games. On the other side of the ball, freshman
Zion Beyer has scored 10 total touchdowns, nine of which have come on the ground. Quarterback
Derek Lucero has 10 touchdown passes.
Top performers: The aggressiveness of the
North Park (Walden) defense has been evident early, with juniors
Nic Martin and
Blayden Fletcher combining for 16.5 sacks.
Otis sophomore
Bryce Miracle has paced 6-Man on the ground, averaging 159 yards through four games and scoring eight touchdowns.
Longmont Christian's offense has aired the ball out early, with quarterback
Luke Puchino throwing for 587 yards in two games.
